Pre-GDC: Nvidia Provides Free PhysX For PS3 Developers

Graphics company Nvidia will offer the binary version of its PhysX middleware to registered PlayStation 3 developers for free, thanks to a new tools and middleware license agreement with Sony. PhysX's SDK, also compatible with Xbox 360, Wii and PC lets developers implement hardware-accelerated physics in their projects. It features an API and physics engine and allows for real-time effects previews. Companies including Electronic Arts and 2K license PhysX, and the middleware was recently used in EA DICE's Mirror's Edge. "Nvidia is proud to support PlayStation 3 as an approved middleware provider," says Tony Tamasi, senior vice president of content and technology at NVIDIA. "Games developed for the PlayStation 3 using PhysX technology offer a more realistic and lifelike interaction between the games characters and other objects within the game."